Australia a New Growth Market for Medicinal Cannabis

A company that has listed on the Australian Securities Exchange hopes to capitalise on a growing worldwide demand for medicinal cannabis.

PhytoTech, which will source its materials from California and Uruguay and make products in Israel, hopes to supply Israel, Europe, the United States and Canada, but not yet Australia, where medicinal cannabis is still illegal.

Meanwhile, AusCann, which started out as Tasman Health Cannabinoids, is lobbying for the legalisation of medicinal cannabis in Australia, with the hope of supplying the drug in the first state to allow it.

Adam Blumenthal, the director of corporate finance at BBY, the brokerage firm that oversaw the float of PhytoTech, said the initial uptake confirmed his belief that there was a future for medicinal cannabis in Australia.

PhytoTech’s stock, which was floated at 20¢ a share 10 days ago, more than quadrupled to 92¢ in volatile trading before closing at 47.5¢ on Friday.